Africa the Starry-Eyed Posts: 727
| Deceased |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 :: 6 (Tallsun) Buff: NOVICE |
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Silas :: Common Zephyr :: Roc
Riven |
Look down, the ground below is crumbling
Look up, the stars are all exploding
Bittersweet was the sensation that rushed through her nervously quaking body as she found herself once more upon the familiar border of her homeland. The journey had been long and arduous; cruel given that her birthright was to soar beyond the primitive souls whose feet were bound down by gravity. Why had she come home, when it was family who had betrayed her trust, her good-will? She could not find reason through the fog of apprehension which confused her thoughts. Perhaps it was her unwavering loyalty, that foolishly hopeful obedience that pulled her sorry corpse from the ever shifting mists of the Edge, heart-sister to this desert realm; so far south from the blizzards and snow-strewn mountains which had caged her to begin with so, so long ago. Certainly her perspective had been distorted- perversely, so and as she lingered beneath shadowed limestone cliffs just beyond the desert’s rim, Africa’s eyes narrowed wistfully, sorrowfully.
Her spirit shattered, and healed bones aching with wasted ambition, the dappled Pegasus watched beneath an eerie fire-glow, a few of her kin, fuss about the shadowy monstrosity which would someday provide some level of diversion, protection for the Throat. Once, she looked with wonder-filled eyes upon this half made magical structure; but now the only image which her demented gaze absorbed was that of prison walls, easily comparable to the sheer impassable, iced fence which surrounded the pit of hell itself. A shiver broke Africa’s attention, and she shrank away further beneath her shady refuge, all the more keen to avoid snaring their attention. No longer was she imprudent enough to believe that she could slip wraithlike, unnoticed like that ghost-white mare had led her to believe. Demons and devils lurked through every corridor; they watched always with eyes lusting over the unwitting, with hearts that hungered for blood; for death.
Warily, she glanced upwards. She remembered then that the soldiers of the Throat- her brethren, tirelessly patrolled these borders, both with eagle-like eyes from above and by foot. It did not matter that the endless night shed grim blackness throughout the world- they would be there, watching; waiting. Not all who shared this territory were alike- not like the pit of wolves from whence she had come, each of whose faces were adorned with all manner of vicious spears and pointless trees; her kin was diverse. Africa’s gentle heart was still burned with grief; marred so easily by the impurity to which she had been forcibly witness. The sight, sound and scent of death still haunted her, and her pale cheeks wore dried salt channels, waiting to flow again when she couldn’t stay awake any longer, and succumbed to nightmares and restless, disturbed slumber.
The dark outline of her fluttering, watchful Zephyr friend filled her with some sense of calm. Silas had remained in her company for much of her incarceration, and if not for his comforting presence and relentless badgering, her existence might have withered away entirely. Before he’d found her, that was all Africa had wished for- death.
The place was vaguely familiar, as his sharp eyes roved curiously ahead of them. He shared the worry which plagued her heart; knew the guilt which eroded her confidence and the suspicion which broke her hope, and so Silas guarded their movement with dogged determination. Though young and small, the Zephyr was crafted with unsurpassed courage, and his tiny heart beat with anguish and conviction for his crippled bonded.
As Africa stepped through the alien, cold sand, her only wing, naked and ugly, was clutched tightly to her waist. Some time had been spent by the warm, tender hospitality of the Edge Seer, and gratitude panged through her wilted corpse, a longing to return and hide still longer beneath the safety of her company. But she felt like a parasite, clingy and bothersome, and had slipped away on her own accord- perhaps not unnoticed, but free from challenge. One day the young grey would return to thank Hellena; although the gift of freedom was a debt she felt she might never repay; and also Smoke, who had fused the fractures and soothed the strains that had rendered her body useless. For now though, she waded through the sea of murky red, with downcast eyes; guilty, and with a secret gnawing at the frayed nerves in her brain. One face remained steady through the cloud of her confusion though, the girl who had come from home with tender concern; and that was whom she prayed would stumble upon her worthless attendance first. Though she knew she deserved not, the clemency now.
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credits
Onni the Illuminant Posts: 194
| Hidden Account |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2hh :: 8 Buff: SWIFT |
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Lyhty :: Diamond Firetail Finch :: Sing
Boom Boom! |
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onni. </style>
Distance feels further when you love with fervor
and no second thoughts. </style>
Perched like an eagle atop the partially finished wall, Onni watches the border for the familiar figure of her mother.
Likely, Kri would be airborne, but the shaman had a sickening feeling something would have happened to the Resolute on her journey to the Edge. Lyhty attempts to quell her worries by sending warmer feelings and thoughts, but to no avail. After battling the massive monster of the pit, Onni felt uncertain. Surely, there had been others to battle during that day. If the mare knew anything about her mother, Kri would have jumped headfirst into a fight with a monster to protect others less apt to fight. The image of a broken, bloodied chocolate pegasus could not be shaken from her mind, so the painted girl stood alert, awaiting the return of her closest family.
For a moment, as she saw the skulking figure of a mare, her breath caught in her throat. Automatically, so worn down with the paranoid thoughts of her mother, Onni thought this figure to be the leader of the Dragon's Throat returned from a harsh battle. Despite the worry crowding her heart and lungs, the shaman found herself still - unable to move. The pale face turns like the face of the moon, gazing down at this sulking figure in the sand. When the grey mare comes closer, the tobiano notices the dapples.
A breath explodes from her nostrils, relief flooding her body for one glorious moment before concern returns. Onni's hooves clap on the metal structures for a moment before she launches herself off the edge, gliding toward the ground with extended chocolate wings. Landing in a plume of bright, crimson dust, Onni turns in the direction of this unfortunate soul. Pale eyes narrow to make out details, seeing immediately the missing limb, and the open-hearted girl sighs sorrowfully, lowering her gaze for a moment before she takes a gentle trot over to meet with the downcast mare.
"Welcome home," she says, her voice gentle and calm, trying hard to keep a warm tone in her voice to undo the darkness surrounding this girl. The one who was missing, Africa. Sidling up toward the girl, but being sure to keep her distance, Onni looks over with an open expression, showing that the pain of her herdmate caused pain in her own heart. The painted girl opens her mouth, searching for words to say; what could she say? Coming up with a blank answer, it shuts again. Instead, the healer offers the girl a melancholy smile, and a gentle brush of her wing. Upon the shaman's shoulder, the small songbird chirps quietly.
[ Let me know if you don't want me to include the wing brush, and I'll change it. ^^ ]
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Africa the Starry-Eyed Posts: 727
| Deceased |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 :: 6 (Tallsun) Buff: NOVICE |
|
Silas :: Common Zephyr :: Roc
Riven |
Look down, the ground below is crumbling
Look up, the stars are all exploding
So silent was the emptiness surrounding Africa. Her own pulse thumped wildly beneath the sensitive flutter of her nervous ears, and each unsteady push of air from her lungs seemed to exaggerate the growing fear; trepidation. She could only guess the turn of events to come, the anger and resentment; the questioning and contempt- and her whirling mind did so with savage relentlessness, so that she trembled with each step beyond the numbing isolation of the wilderness, behind her.
A sudden clatter of hooves, well above their heads, caused Silas’s hawk-like eyes to snap to the wall’s lofty peak. He could only trace the large shadow as it drifted downward with precision and grace. A hushed rumbling began beneath the ruffle of midnight feathers across his breast; a sound made purely for his soul mate, to rouse her attention and warn of their company. He had not lingered long in the desert, perhaps only a day or two, after his hatching. With the courage of his kin, the young Zephyr had passed from one alien landscape into the next until the burning of his heart waned- the moment his eyes first laid to rest upon the ill dappled mare. This was not home from Silas's perspective, and he remained cautious.
Africa’s ears stilled for a second, attracted by the sound issued by her guardian, and she listened with a sinking heart for any further inkling to betray the inevitable arrival of another. There was no thud of wings though, nor slosh of sand to slice through the strangeness of that night, and puzzled she was forced to lift her head out of its pathetic droop. Curiously, she allowed her eyes to track for the same movement that had upset Silas. Her ability to see through the dark was limited, perhaps a hereditary fault, but she knew no different. Struggling to place her interest in something invisible, her face sank once again to hover above the sullen drag of her heavy, aggrieved stride.
Soon enough, another mare danced forward amidst a blur of light and dark hues. Africa did not recognize her, though she did not flinch and balk from the Pegasus like she had from Hellena and Smoke, when stirred from slumber in the Edge. The mare seemed pleasant enough, and Africa managed a rather tight-lipped smile- she could hardly risk unravelling the tightly wound ball of frayed threads detailing all that had happened, after all. "Welcome home," The other soothed, and the grey’s shoulders hunched a little upwards suddenly weary beneath the weight of guilt and bitterness. Just like Cirrus, although the name still evaded her for now, the painted mare embraced her- respectfully, and the pinched, pained expression marring Africa’s face softened subtly.
She knew though, that once the particulars of her whereabouts were revealed; the death, the stupidity... the general disloyalty of it all, the warmth expressed would undoubtedly cease.
"Thank you." She spoke softly, narrowing an eye to watch as the other’s eyes caressed the useless mass of her remaining body. She wondered if it might just be easier to announce the end of a holiday- one that wasn’t earned in fact; and exaggerate all the woefulness that came with one’s return to work. She shrugged slowly, noting the other Pegaus’s loss for words, and said simply, "my it’s good to be back." Silas came then with a beady gaze, to rest upon the point of Africa’s withers.
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credits
Onni the Illuminant Posts: 194
| Hidden Account |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2hh :: 8 Buff: SWIFT |
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Lyhty :: Diamond Firetail Finch :: Sing
Boom Boom! |
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onni. </style>
Distance feels further when you love with fervor
and no second thoughts. </style>
The hollow expression of the mare's eyes is troublesome, but Onni cannot help the warmth she feels for the girl already. Whatever sadness takes the life from her heart, the shaman was fairly certain could be assuaged by the support of herdmates. Willing to give her the friendship needed in the dark night, the painted mare slips her wing for a small embrace before returning her soft, feathered wing to her side, glancing over with sky eyes. There is something truly weary about the way this mare carries herself, but it is uncertain whether or not a long travel plays a part in that tired expression.
The drawn lines of the grey's face makes Onni believe that it is more than simple travel-worn legs bothering the girl. Maybe it is the darkness that had frayed the painted girl's own nerves. Maybe it is the loss of someone once loved. Speculation could bring about a thousand explanations, and the tobiano has a feeling she will never guess the true source.
Upon her shoulder, Lyhty lets out a soothing chirp, attempting to ease the feeling that plagued her.
She was polite, but withdrawn. From her place beside the grey, Onni finds herself at a loss. The healer often made the attempt to be outgoing, friendly, and willing to stretch for conversation. However, looking toward the dampened expression of her company, the tobiano's tongue was tied in knots. If not for the added comment of the downtrodden girl, the healer likely would have allowed the conversation to come to an awkward end. Instead, the pale faced beauty offers up an appreciative smile in response, glad that the girl was willing to make Onni comfortable even when there was a monster eating at her own heart.
"I long for the sands of crimson when I travel," the shaman says earnestly, nodding at the end of her words. Onni was the longest living inhabitant in the herd, at the moment, having preceded the invasion of the Tuuli. Unlike her mother, the Illuminant had only known the Dragon's Throat as a home here, in this land. Part of her heart still earned for the fallen Cliffs and the lively Islands of Isilme, but this desert had usurped her sense of home. "I do not believe we have ever met. I am Onni," a bright smile once more coupled with her introduction. "What's your name, friend?"
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Africa the Starry-Eyed Posts: 727
| Deceased |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 16 :: 6 (Tallsun) Buff: NOVICE |
|
Silas :: Common Zephyr :: Roc
Riven |
Look down, the ground below is crumbling
Look up, the stars are all exploding
She was not sly by nature, nor overly clever; she was rather simple. Perhaps once upon a time Africa might have rivalled the innocence of a newborn lamb, clean and pure of heart. A lifetime’s worth of trauma and anxiety had washed that ease from the forefront of her demeanour though, and it was with grim resignation that the failing strength of her character allowed Onni closer.
Her body had been cleansed carefully by the Witch Doctor of the west; the bones which Alan had crushed mercilessly to ground and trap her, had been fused back into place; Deimos’ stab-wound upon her croup, and the rash of crusty bloody scabs across her shoulder were healed and dressed now, all with clean pink skin. There was one hurt that Smoke had been unable to mend though, and along with the wing had been robbed the very essence of her life- flight.
Africa regarded Onni quietly, guardedly and almost desperately, through the lash-rimmed slit of one hazel eye. The remaining wing clenched tightly against the ribbed curve of her right side when the gentle mare’s wing slipped across filthy dappled fur for a moment, to cradle her. Thoughts quickly shifted back to the Cirrus, the younger mare who had also tried to nurse the pain from her heart. Why she did not shrink from this horse’s touch she could not tell. Although she could not place either face in the shallow pool of her most recent, raw memories, a sense of remorse swamped her mind- guilt for her own vile, alien abrasiveness.
"I long for the sands of crimson when I travel," Onni began to speak, and Africa’s ears paused from their bemused swaying to listen even if her morose gaze had settled by the dull red of the sandy substrate below. The sincerity coating the words pierced the shamble of self-indulgent misery and worry, and Africa found herself nodding ever so slightly in unison. "What's your name, friend?" The other continued after introducing herself as Onni. Not so long ago Africa was overflowing with ambition and desire to learn and grow; she had promised herself that she would seek Onni out, along with Cirrus, and request their guidance so that she might learn their wondrous art. The drawn, pitiful creature which huddled by the border of her homeland now though had lost that drive- her zest. The memories were drowned beneath demonic faces, horns and the walls of that former prison.
’Nell’... She thought, swallowing a bitter sigh as she thought of the name gifted by Lace when shame soured the taste of her unspoken name. Indignity embraced her reply, and immediately she regretted its utterance- "Africa." A limp smile pulled vaguely at her lips, as she lifted her eyes to peer at Onni; to extract even the slightest sort of reaction. "I thought I might miss my first winter here..." She continued cautiously, trying to test for any preconceived impression her herd-mate might have, as discretely as she could.
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credits
Onni the Illuminant Posts: 194
| Hidden Account |
| Mare :: Pegasus :: 15.2hh :: 8 Buff: SWIFT |
|
Lyhty :: Diamond Firetail Finch :: Sing
Boom Boom! |
|
onni. </style>
Distance feels further when you love with fervor
and no second thoughts. </style>
The shaman notices the strange look upon the grey's face as she embraces her, and yet shows no apparent sign of having seen anything unusual. Even as her feather limb had brushed upon the empty side, where a wing should have been placed, she makes no mention of it. Her face remains calm, warm, and soothing in the dull light which flickered from the pyre in the distance, a symbol of their herd's life which thrived still.
It can hardly be said that Onni does not care for the hurt that is obvious in every movement of her new counterpart. She is a healer and, before that, an openhearted warrior with a kind soul. The beating in her chest aches in the pain that she feels radiating from her company, but the tobiano tries her best to keep her own thoughts to herself. Her posture is calm. Her face is lighted, happy. Her words are normal and not gilded with overly nice tones. Peaceful, like a spring breeze. Having suffered the loss of the stallion she considered her father, the loss of two of her homes, she knew that some aches could not be healed when they are placed under a microscope. When she had been suffering from heartache, all she had wanted was normalcy and gentle company, yet that was harder to come by than one would think.
The shaman hoped that by offering her patient friendship, this girl would open up to her on her own account, without coaxing on Onni's part. Sensing his bonded's need for steady, calm reactions, Lyhty is relatively quiet, tucking himself behind a chocolate wing and twiddling with her mane.
With whatever pain rests in her chest, the grey seems more or less engaged in their interaction, nodding almost simultaneously with the healer, making her smile widen for a brief moment. Forgetting momentarily that this girl had been scarred on her heart, Onni was simply enjoying new company. Looking over as the grey introduces herself, the shaman offers a smile in return for the short, tight version of the other. "Africa," she repeats for memory, liking the sound of the name. "Nice to meet you."
She looks away out at the darkened, night painted desert as Africa speaks to her again. Onni's mind expects her voice to continue, as it fades toward the end, but when silence pools for a moment, the tobiano looks back toward her. "Normally, it is warmer during the winter here," she begins, her voice even and calm, still open and honest as always. "Without the sun to warm the sands, the chill has really set in. On a normal winter day, the sun warms the wind, glints off the sand like red snow. The sky is usually brilliantly clear and blue for as far as you can see." Looking down toward her hooves, the shaman sighs, caught up in the reverie of her homeland.
"I miss the Sun. This land is not half as magical without his warmth."
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